


Slightly Stale Pastries Make The World Go Round - Bullet Fic

by everybodygotawaterbuffalo



Series: Slightly Stale Pastries [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - High School, Animal Shelter, M/M, Photography, So many tropes, based off the Joy MV, basically self-indulgent crack, bullet fic, loosely, ok so i wrote this really late at night, record store, shhhh don't wake the plot it's sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:10:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everybodygotawaterbuffalo/pseuds/everybodygotawaterbuffalo
Summary: Working title: How Many Cliches Can I Fit Into One Story?TW: like maybe 3 swear words and I mention the mafia twice as a jokeDisclaimer: please do not expect Korean cultural accuracy. This isn’t really set in a particular country but for the record hi I’m from Minnesota so when in doubt I’ll default back to that. The setup for the city is pretty similar to mine, just fudging the shops obviously because what city planner puts that many tropes in one place? Only one who’s seen too many rom coms and read too many fanfics. Also the grades are based on the cutoff dates that my school district uses, so school starts the day after labor day and the cutoff is the last day of August. Thus, Mark’s a college freshman, the 00 line are seniors, Chenle and Jisung are sophomores. (Yeah, there’s a year gap in there, but there’s also over a year between Jaemin and Chenle so) Also yes I am a native English speaker so there might be weird slang in here that I haven’t thought about because I’m writing this at like really weird times of the night (아주 yikes) so feel free to ask if you have any questions and I’ll try to explain





	1. Literally just introducing the characters

**Author's Note:**

> Working title: How Many Cliches Can I Fit Into One Story?  
> TW: like maybe 3 swear words and I mention the mafia twice as a joke  
> Disclaimer: please do not expect Korean cultural accuracy. This isn’t really set in a particular country but for the record hi I’m from Minnesota so when in doubt I’ll default back to that. The setup for the city is pretty similar to mine, just fudging the shops obviously because what city planner puts that many tropes in one place? Only one who’s seen too many rom coms and read too many fanfics. Also the grades are based on the cutoff dates that my school district uses, so school starts the day after labor day and the cutoff is the last day of August. Thus, Mark’s a college freshman, the 00 line are seniors, Chenle and Jisung are sophomores. (Yeah, there’s a year gap in there, but there’s also over a year between Jaemin and Chenle so) Also yes I am a native English speaker so there might be weird slang in here that I haven’t thought about because I’m writing this at like really weird times of the night (아주 yikes) so feel free to ask if you have any questions and I’ll try to explain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is a photographer  
> Haechan works at a bakery  
> Jeno's at the flower shop  
> Renjun draws flowers (and sometimes pretty boys)  
> Chenle just wants to sing and pet animals  
> Jaemin just recovered from a back injury and works at a tattoo parlor  
> Jisung dances when he's not taking care of animals
> 
> And here's how they all ended up spending lunches together

  * WE BEGIN WITH: Hyuck and Mark
  * Hyuck gets ready for work and heads out
  * It’s a fairly ~~boring~~ normal start to the morning, y’know how it is
  * He enjoys the bakery, don’t get him wrong, it just gets kinda repetitive after a while
  * The one thing that shakes things up?
  * The cute college photography major who stops in to take pictures of the cakes and the people sometimes (increasingly frequently)
  * And lo and behold, hell yeah! he’s here today!
  * Cute photography guy is named Mark and Hyuck saves him pastries every night (the bakery has to get rid of anything that doesn’t sell because it goes too stale overnight) _(side note I don’t know if that’s what real bakeries do but that’s what the starbucks in the target I work at does so there’s that. we get free pastries at night when we close and that’s pretty great ok sorry I got distracted)_
  * Hyuck felt bad at first because Mark always bought something when he came in to take pictures and y’know he’s in college and there’s the stereotype about broke college students and honestly, photography can’t earn _that_ much, right? so he started saving a couple pastries every night and putting them in a tupperware container in the fridge so when/if Mark comes the next day they can have them for breakfast after the morning rush
  * They’ve got this down to a nice pattern: morning rush, breakfast, Hyuck working and Mark photographing ~~him~~ the pastries and people in the bakery, Mark leaving around lunchtime, Hyuck ~~pining for the rest of the day~~ working more, texting sometimes at night once Mark got up the courage to ask for Hyuck’s number
  * Side note Mark works with Johnny and Ten who run a small photography business to pay off student loans. Yes they are dating. No that’s not pertinent to the story I just wanted to include it ok fight me
  * INTRODUCING: Jeno (chapter 2?)
  * He works at the florist two stores over and kinda knows Hyuck and Mark from school (Mark went to the local high school after moving from Canada in the middle of his sophomore year before he graduated and Jeno’s brother Taeyong is good friends with Johnny and Ten) but isn’t super close friends with either of them
  * ( _and today on Which NCT Lee’s Are Related in This Fic? we have Jeno and Taeyong who are siblings, and Hyuck is actually their cousin but they’re not really close)_
  * He ends up forgetting to pack a lunch one day and decides to head over to the bakery because he remembers Jisung mentioning that it’s pretty good at dance one day
  * Ten also helps run the local dance club that Jeno and Jisung are in _(also not really pertinent but whatever)_
  * So he arrives and smiles and immediately everyone in his general vicinity feels their day brighten a little (correlation or causation? we’ll never know)
  * He and Hyuck sit and talk for a while until they both have to get back to work and they exchange numbers and start texting sometimes (it’s usually just them sharing their plights of pining for unattainable people) (and memes)
  * Jeno starts coming over for lunch most days, and Hyuck feels bad about him always buying stuff too so he and Mark start having the pastries for lunch and Hyuck starts saving an extra for Jeno
  * Hyuck’s manager (Doyoung) doesn’t care about them eating stale pastries as long as they keep Hyuck away from him for his lunch break ~~so he can talk to his bf Kun~~ and let him get back to work on time
  * Hyuck and Jeno just kinda end up pretty close because all of their other friends have either graduated or gone on vacation way too fricking far away
  * Also Jeno brings Hyuck flowers sometimes to feel better for ~~constantly third-wheeling~~ stealing pastries (no matter how many times Hyuck says it’s fine) and it kinda accidentally makes Mark a little jealous but whoops we haven’t gotten to plot yet we haven’t even introduced half the characters
  * Also side note Jeno has been a lot little in love with Jaemin for a long time now but again shhh don’t wake the plot yet it’s still sleeping
  * NEXT UP: Renjun (and Chenle kinda) (chapter 3?)
  * So. Renjun’s godparents are Chenle’s parents so they’re god-siblings _(my sister has a god-brother which is the only reason I thought of this thanks Lilly)_
  * Renjun’s parents are like involved in the mafia or they’re like important business people or something idk I haven’t decided yet so they’re off doing stuff on the other side of the world, leaving Renjun in the custody of Chenle’s parents
  * They end up moving for mafia? business? other reasons? idk yet but they move into town ok cool? cool
  * Renjun does art
  * Like really good art--sketching and painting and all that _(idk what all kinds of visual art there are I just do music soooo)_
  * He sells it on like etsy and redbubble or whatever the equivalent is
  * He also has an art tumblr and has a small but loyal and steadily growing following
  * (side note Jaemin follows Renjun’s tumblr without knowing it bc he’s a hoe for aesthetics)
  * (side note pt 2 Renjun ends up drawing lil tattoo ideas for Jaemin but that’ll come up later I just didn’t want to forget about it)
  * He joins a local art club (that Jaemin also happens to be in but shhhh we’ll get to him later) and starts to learn about the area
  * While out on one of his walks, he finds the flower shop that Jeno works at and decides to stop and see if the workers mind if he doodles for a bit
  * He goes inside and _holy shit the employee’s cute wait what do I do I just wanted to draw flowers I didn’t sign up for gay panic_
  * But don’t worry Renjun: Jeno is also panicking because let’s be real here, norenmin is like 80% all of them panicking and 20% Jaemin being a confident gay and the other two panicking ok? ok
  * So he asks if he can sit and draw and of course Jeno’s all “absolutely! just let me know if you need anything!” and smiles and suddenly Renjun’s heart skips like 3 beats in a row because _oh my god he’s so cute (Jeno is too powerful. His eye smiles induce half of Jaemin’s gay panic. The other half is Renjun being really freaking gorgeous and also small)_
  * Meanwhile Jeno’s two remaining brain cells are going _he’s so pretty what the heck is this even allowed his accent is so cute too wait would it seem rude if I asked where he’s from oh yeah probably ok I won’t I’ll just stand here and water flowers and sneak glances over at him_
  * He’s not subtle
  * It’s ok though bc Renjun is oblivious
  * He’s also kinda preoccupied with mentally questioning whether or not it’d be weird to paint Jeno
  * (he concludes that painting would be weird but sketching is ok so guess what his most frequent subject is now) _(I’ll give you a hint -- it’s not flowers)_
  * Also Jeno’s boss (Sicheng) speaks Mandarin and says funny stuff sometimes ~~because it’s so much easier to make jokes in your native language trust me~~ and didn’t realize that Renjun spoke it too until he laughs at one of his jokes _(again, not pertinent to the story but hey it’s extra NCT so are you really complaining?)_
  * Renjun’s eventually at the flower shop enough that he starts going to lunch at the bakery with Jeno and meets the rest of the gang
  * Doyoung just kinda shakes his head and pulls out another tupperware container for Hyuck
  * MEANWHILE: CHENLE (chapter 4?)
  * Chenle gets bored being at home all day while Renjun’s out drawing and his parents are at work/hiding from the mafia? that’ll be dealt with later but for now
  * Renjun did bring Chenle with him on his initial walks but he prefers to be alone when he draws (and tries to flirt with Jeno)
  * So Chenle decides to get a job
  * Where does he get a job, you might ask?
  * Why, at the record store between the florists’ and the bakers’
  * Most of the reason he gets this job is because he and the manager (Jaehyun) bond over singing during the interview because their music taste is like exactly the same
  * Hiring Chenle turns out to be a damn good marketing strategy because with him singing in the front of the shop, it’s like a freaking siren call
  * As squeaky as his dolphin laugh is, that boy can sound damn near angelic when he wants to
  * Occasionally he manages to get Jaehyun to sing with him and that brings _all_ the boys to the yard
  * (by that I mean Taeyong. Jaehyun singing brings Taeyong to the yard)
  * Chenle spends his lunch breaks alone until Jaehyun mentions he goes over to the animal shelter across the street to ~~stare at the guy who runs it~~ (coincidentally Taeyong)  pet the animals
  * So one day Chenle decides to check it out and whaddayaknow there’s also a cute high schooler working there _(spoiler alert it’s Jisung)_
  * When Chenle isn’t working, though, he usually meets up with Renjun and co. at the bakery for lunch
  * Basically, now Chenle alternates between going to the animal shelter and bakery on breaks
  * Doyoung tosses Hyuck a tupperware container from across the store
  * Miracuously, Hyuck catches it
  * Then immediately drops it on Mark’s head
  * SUDDENLY: Jaemin (chapter 5?) _(I almost lost count of chapters there shit this is getting long sorry)_
  * So it’s already been established that Jeno knows Jaemin from school and Renjun knows him from art club
  * But he’s also Hyuck’s neighbor
  * So he already knows most of the gang, he just doesn’t know that they know each other
  * He’s been stuck in his house (other than art club) for a couple months because someone (probably Hyuck) dared him to do something stupid and he couldn’t back down from the challenge and fucked up his back in the process
  * But! he’s been released back into the wild and returns to work
  * _(Ok so I know Jaemin isn’t in the Joy MV but like you can’t have the Dreamies without Jaemin so this happened because I had Jeno in flower shop and, y’know, tropes)_
  * So Jaemin works at the tattoo parlor across from the florist and he has for a couple years
  * His cousin Taeil works there and once he became a manager he offered Jaemin a job
  * Everyone at school thinks it’s super cool and edgy and for a while everyone thought Jaemin was a badass
  * (Spoiler alert he’s not--he’s actually really really soft, especially for the two boys in the flower shop across the street)
  * Jaemin can’t do any actual tattooing yet but he can organize and suggest designs and Yuta sometimes lets him help with piercings so that’s exciting
  * Since he knows Jeno and Renjun, they start dragging him to lunch at the bakery too because it doesn’t seem fair to have him eating alone when they’re all getting together
  * The first time they bring him there Hyuck goes “Nana!” all excited and they start chatting and everyone else is hella confused
  * Apparently it had just never come up that Hyuck and Jaemin knew each other ~~whoops~~
  * And now we have a jealous Mark _and_ jealous Jeno  & Renjun but it’s ok bc Chenle is laughing in the corner
  * Doyoung throws a tupperware container at Hyuck’s head
  * It misses? and hits Mark
  * Everyone laughs
  * FINALLY: Jisung (chapter 6?)
  * So a lot of the pet shelter’s help just graduated (thanks, Lucas and Jungwoo) so Taeyong (the owner) is looking for some summer help
  * He finds Jisung
  * Jisung likes playing with the animals and he likes that when there aren’t any people he can ~~panic about cute boys~~ ~~practice~~ dances in the back room and Taeyong doesn’t care
  * Chenle and Renjun visit sometimes
  * Chenle to pet the animals and Renjun to draw them
  * Jisung knows Jeno from dance club and Chenle mentions him at one point and Jisung goes “oh I know him” so Chenle decides to bring Jisung to lunch
  * Doyoung pulls out another tupperware container and threatens to get rid of the fridge if Hyuck keeps “adopting strays”
  * Hyuck just smiles
  * At this point Doyoung has given up on the amount of tupperware
  * The kids buy stuff about weekly though because they feel bad about just sitting there all the time
  * It’s usually a round of pastries or a cake or something they can split and they take turns paying
  * Doyoung doesn’t mind them there as long as they keep Hyuck away from him for all of his break but don’t distract him after




	2. The Plot Has Awoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark thinks Hyuck is cute  
> Hyuck is really really gay  
> Jeno just wants to help  
> Renjun is exasperated but really weak  
> Jaemin thinks he’s Cupid (he might be right)  
> Chenle is laughing in the corner  
> Jisung just doesn’t want to get involved
> 
> And here’s how the first two end up dating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so I realized like 5 days ago that it'd been almost a month since I posted this and decided I'm gonna post on the ninth of every month through december, which will be the (plotless) finale  
> what with school and activities and all that jazz I just can't handle weekly updates and since this is based on the Joy MV I figured it'd be fitting to end it around christmastime  
> I hope you all enjoy!

  * AND NOW PLOT
  * So we all know Mark and Hyuck are pining for each other right? right
  * And we all also know they both think the other doesn't like them because a) tropes and b) low self-esteem is a magical thing
  * Additionally, they both have "pretend to hate them but only like a little bit" as their default defense mechanism for gay panic so that doesn't help
  * Hyuck tends to be kinda touchy with people he's close to, and he starts hugging and just generally touching Mark more frequently
  * HOWEVER: Mark sees him hanging off Jaemin all the time and thinks he might have a crush on Jaemin
  * He literally couldn’t be more wrong
  * Even though Jaemin and Hyuck have known each other since like age 2 and neither of them are straight, they’ve never even considered a relationship bc they’re more like siblings
  * Fun fact they are each other’s first kiss bc 4am truth or dare but that’s a story for another time (like next chapter probably)
  * Basically, Mark & Hyuck are both kinda flirting but trying to be subtle about it because they’re too awkward to outright do anything (also neither even knows if the other is straight or not so that’s a thing)
  * Enter: Jaemin and his endless knowledge of Hyuck’s mannerisms
  * He  _immediately_  knows that Hyuck has a crush on Mark (or at least that he finds him attractive)
  * Because he (unlike ~~Chenle~~ some people) has self-control, he doesn’t bring it up until he realizes that Hyuck isn’t doing anything about it
  * This takes approximately a week
  * Mostly Jaemin just gets impatient and wants his bff to be gay ( _pun intended_ )
  * He tries mentioning things subtly (and privately bc he knows Hyuck would be hella uncomfortable with the whole group making fun about this) but Hyuck is in Denial Mode so that doesn’t work
  * He knows he has to get proof of reciprocation before Hyuck works up the guts to do anything
  * Jaemin’s good with people, so he recognizes pretty quickly that Mark also obviously has a crush on Hyuck (and this definitely has nothing to do with the time Mark’s camera and Jaemin went missing for like half an hour and the fact that over half of his camera roll is pictures of Hyuck, and Jaemin was grinning like the cat that got the canary for the rest of the day what why would you think that)
  * Surprisingly, unlike everything else in his life, Mark’s actually kinda subtle about it so Hyuck still thinks that he’s just here for the platonic companionship and pretty pastries
  * _And by subtle I mean he gay panics whenever he’s within like 5 feet of Hyuck but it’s silent gay panic_
  * So, like a good ~~neighbor, state farm is there~~ friend, Jaemin stages a minor intervention
  * Basically, he sneaks into Hyuck’s room one Saturday morning (just kidding he’s too polite for that he knocked on the door and said hi to Hyuck’s mom and everything) and essentially says “I’m not leaving until this shit gets figured out bc you deserve a bf”
  * Hyuck, of course, denies it for all of 3.75 seconds before Jaemin starts pouting and let’s be real here, no one can hold strong against Jaemin pouting so he gives in and admits it
  * Hyuck is, unfortunately, too self-conscious to say anything to Mark and he’s hesitant to believe that literally half of his photos are of him so Jaemin is forced to take more extreme measures
  * And by that I mean he gets Hyuck a pint of ice cream and some Studio Ghibli movies and cuddles with him then texts Jeno and Renjun to get together the next day bc he has a Plan™
  * Jaemin spends the night with Hyuck showering him with platonic love and affection and giving him external validation because hey we all need it sometimes that’s what best friends and instagram selfies are for
  * CUT TO: next day
  * Jaemin meets up with Jeno and Renjun at the local coffee shop (where Kun works bc I don’t think I’ve mentioned that yet) to discuss the Situation
  * While neither of them have been paying specific attention to the Situation, they’ve both noticed the ~~extreme~~ mild pining and are totally on board to help
  * Well, Jeno’s totally on board
  * Renjun is a bit skeptical bc he thinks they’ll figure it out on their own but Jaemin is _impatient_ and Renjun can’t say no to either of them pouting, let alone both, so he agrees to help
  * Jaemin outlines his plan(s), which go as follows:
  * Plan A: get Mark to leave his camera somewhere Hyuck will find it so he’ll see how goddam _fond_ Mark is and how many pictures of him he’s taken and Hyuck will work up the courage to make a move
  * Plan B: get everyone together for a party/sleepover (which they decide they should do regardless) and play truth or dare. It’s pretty self-explanatory from there, although the PDA aspect isn’t as desirable considering how awkward they both can be
  * Plan C: Jaemin pretends to have a _hella_ obvious crush on Hyuck so Mark gets jealous and asks him out (this one made Jeno and Renjun kinda uncomfortable but they shove it aside. It’s about Hyuck right now). This one is a little questionable since Mark tends to be oblivious to most things more than 6 inches away from him but Jaemin’s confident that if it involves Hyuck, he’ll notice
  * Plan D: shove them both in the bakery fridge/freezer so they have to share body heat and end up kissing (to be fair, Jaemin was kinda running out of ideas at this point. There are only so many ways to get your bff a bf)
  * They decide to try to implement Plan A sometime in the next week
  * It takes 3 whole days before Mark leaves his camera alone while anyone else is in the shop
  * He’s grown cautious from the time it disappeared but Renjun distracts him with questions about college and drags him over to his computer, causing Mark to abandon his camera
  * Jeno then distracts Hyuck temporarily with a question about a cake for his mom’s birthday as Jaemin puts the camera at his workstation
  * Hyuck then proceeds to be _too freaking polite_ and looks at the camera, his finger hovering over the camera roll button, but decides not to and just gives the camera back to Mark when he returns from Renjun’s clutches
  * Jaemin frowns bc Hyuck would usually take any opportunity to make fun of Mark but it’s whatever he still has 3 possible plans left
  * Time to execute Plan B
  * They’ve already got a sleepover scheduled for the next weekend bc a) why the heck not and b) Renjun wanted to have it planned already in case Plan A didn’t work
  * Sooooooo, a couple days after the failure of Plan A, they’re ready to execute Plan B.
  * Since Renjun and Chenle have the house to themselves this weekend, the group decides to go there, to avoid dealing with siblings and parents butting in
  * Everyone meets up there and they make dinner (probably like pizza or something -- these are teenage boys we’re talking about here)
  * Then Jisung and Jeno thoroughly destroy everyone else at Mario Kart for a while before Jaemin suggests Truth or Dare
  * Obviously, Hyuck is immediately suspicious but Renjun agreeing to play convinces him
  * The circle goes around a few times with dumb stuff like “when’s the last time you cheated on a test” (Renjun’s never cheated. nerd), “stick your head out the front door and yodel” (Jeno’s pretty sure he freaked out the next door neighbor’s dog and that’s it. Chenle says he didn’t do it loud enough then), and “fit an entire slice of pizza in your mouth” (Hyuck manages it, surprisingly, and even eats the whole thing. Jisung’s not sure whether he should be impressed or disgusted and says so)
  * Then, once everyone’s good and comfortable, the Interesting Dares begin
  * It does not go as planned (then again, when does anything involving Hyuck?)
  * Every time Jeno, Jaemin, or Renjun imposes an awkward truth or dare upon Mark and Hyuck, one of them does it back: Hyuck ends up on Mark’s lap, Renjun ends up on Jeno’s; Mark and Hyuck hold hands, so do Jaemin and Jeno; Mark kisses Hyuck’s cheek, Renjun kisses Jaemin’s _(a.k.a everyone’s gay panicking)_
  * Don’t worry, they aren’t excluding Chenle and Jisung -- they just aren’t getting as … _risque_ of situations
  * They’re still pretty much being told to do dumb things or divulge childhood secrets
  * They do, however, take advantage of the fact that the other five are paying them less attention to steal extra desserts from the pile _(_ ~~ _sneaky little shits_~~ _jk i love them)_
  * The game eventually ends when Mark starts complaining about Hyuck being heavy and losing circulation in his legs
  * Jaemin is salty but obliges and they all head to bed
  * He’s still confused though because Mark and Hyuck seemed to both be panicking slightly less than normal which is odd
  * Nevertheless, on to Plan C
  * This also takes a little while to carry out bc it involves Jaemin just generally being super touchy and clingy with Hyuck for like a week before Mark even seems to notice
  * Jaemin starts practically hanging off of Hyuck, visiting him extra on his days off, and pouting every time Hyuck moves away
  * This has the added effect of making both Jeno and Renjun jealous (not that Jaemin notices) but it also has the intended effect on Mark
  * Mark starts spending more time at the bakery and being more touchy with Hyuck
  * Satisfied, Jaemin takes a step back (Jeno and Renjun let out a collective sigh of relief) (Chenle and Jisung are laughing quietly in the corner)
  * BUT nothing seems to change in their relationship
  * Jaemin texts Hyuck one night and asks if anything’s changed and Hyuck says that he’s working on it which is really vague and unhelpful, but at least positive
  * Again, bc Jaemin’s hella impatient, he decides he wants to execute Plan D anyway
  * Jeno and Renjun are a little apprehensive but decide that as long as they open the freezer door after 45 minutes it’ll be fine _(one of my friends sat in one of the freezers at the back of the Target I work at for over an hour in a t-shirt and jeans to avoid his boss so I think the two of them would be fine for 45 minutes)_
  * Idk how but Jeno and Jaemin manage to trick Hyuck and Mark into getting too close to the freezer door and WHOOP suddenly they’re in the freezer
  * Tbh Hyuck kinda expected Jaemin might get extreme but like … he didn’t think it’d come to this
  * They kinda just chill _(haha)_ for a while until Jeno and Renjun open it back up
  * They’re sitting next to each other but not like cuddling or anything
  * Jaemin is, once again, disappointed
  * UNTIL later that night when he goes over to Hyuck’s house to figure out what to do next
  * When he gets upstairs, he finds Mark cuddling with Hyuck on the couch and like freaks out a lil bit (but that’s a pretty logical response)
  * It is then that he learns that Mark and Hyuck have actually been dating since the day Jaemin and Jeno and Renjun met up to conspire
  * They didn’t want to mess with the group dynamic if it didn’t work out and Hyuck’s parents don’t really want him dating yet (they’re fine with him being queer, they’re just protective) and Jaemin can’t keep a secret from Mrs. Lee to save his life
  * The cat’s out of the bag now though, and obvs Jaemin doesn’t want to keep it secret from Renjun and Jeno so Hyuck and Mark figure they may as well just tell the whole group the next day
  * That goes about as well as you might expect
  * Jeno is mildly outraged but also very excited _(like a puppy. Jeno’s a lot like a puppy in some ways and this is one of them)_
  * Renjun isn’t terribly surprised (he noticed a shift in their relationship but didn’t mention anything to Jaemin or Jeno without concrete evidence) but he’s a lil annoyed that Hyuck made Jaemin go through all 4 plans (to be fair, it was kinda funny)
  * Chenle is just really excited and squeaky (like his normal self just dialed up 3 notches) bc his friends are dating!! and that’s exciting! isn’t that exciting Jisung?? Mark and Hyuck are dating that’s so cool! I can’t wait to tell Jaehyun! he promised if he won the bet he’d give me half! this is so exciting! _(I love Chenle what a sweetheart)_
  * Jisung is somewhat nonplussed but also happy for Mark and Hyuck
  * And thus, the first set of boyfriends arises (foreshadowing?????? yes duh)




	3. The Plot Yawns & Gets Out of Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is gay (in both senses of the word)  
> Hyuck wants his friends to get themselves together  
> Jeno is way too selfless  
> Renjun doesn’t think he fits  
> Jaemin thinks he did something wrong  
> Chenle is excessively excited  
> Jisung is tired of his hyungs
> 
> And here’s how ¾ of the 00 line get together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we continue the game of “how many cliches can I fit in one story” and “how obvious can Val make her bias” also holy cow I finished this chapter over a week before it got published  
> Once again, thanks for reading! The penultimate chapter will be up in a month

 

  * _Let’s be real here, polyamory is hard to negotiate even with proper communication, let alone without, so this is gonna be a rollercoaster_
  * Alrighty let’s go
  * Obviously, they all have gigantic dumb crushes on each other ( ~~sis we been knew~~ ) but don’t know how to deal with it because, y’know, they’re teenagers and when are teenagers ever smart about anything involving feelings ( _spoiler alert: never_ )
  * So _I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this specifically before but_ Jaemin and Jeno have known each other longer than either of them have known Renjun, so it’s understandable that they’re closer and touchier
  * To be fair though, as a friend group they’re all more physically affectionate than most groups
  * Jaemin and Hyuck especially are flirty and affectionate, even after Hyuck and Mark start dating
  * Jeno thinks that Jaemin’s super touchy with everyone since he sees him hanging off Hyuck all the time (tbh Jaemin just craves physical affection a lot _and like same ngl_ and Hyuck’s hugs are really nice ~~also Jaemin flirts with anything that moves~~ )
  * Jaemin thinks Jeno’s just humoring him bc he’s not as affectionate with most of the other guys and usually Jeno waits for Jaemin to initiate (he’s really just not sure what all Jaemin’s comfortable with and doesn’t want to seem too clingy)
  * Renjun’s kinda jealous of how close they are but he doesn’t know how to express it because it takes a while for him to realize what it is so he ends up either pushing them away or being hella clingy with really no in between
  * All of them think they’re being subtle about this but they’re REALLY NOT ~~but they’re all hella oblivious so NONE OF THEM FREAKING NOTICE~~ _ok calm down_
  * Ok
  * So
  * Mark and Hyuck are dating now, and since they’ve got at least the basis of their relationship figured out, they’ve decided they’ll help their angsty friends bc there’s no way Jisung and Chenle will
  * Or, rather, Mark and Hyuck want to help but god _damn_ why can’t the three of them just talk to each other it’s really not that hard
  * They don’t really know how to help other than providing emotional support and encouragement at this point ( _don’t worry they’ll get more involved later_ )
  * Honestly Jisung and Chenle spend most of their time ~~loudly~~ quietly laughing at their hyungs
  * _To be fair, their hyungs are gigantic idiots_
  * Chenle is mostly excited about the prospect of winning another bet
  * Jisung is exasperated (rather hypocritically but _shhhhhh that’s for next chapter_ ) about the lack of communication between them ( _trust me bud, you’re not the only one. I’m the one writing this and I’m frustrated_ )
  * So here’s how it goes down
  * Since the coffee “date” meetup thing when they planned out how to get Mark and Hyuck together (read: Jaemin told them his plan and they nodded and made appreciative noises in the right spots) they’ve been meeting up weekly or so to just chat and have coffee together
  * It’s a nice time for them to be able to talk without MarkHyuck’s sappiness or ChenSung’s sassiness
  * And it’s all going really well UNTIL (dun dun duuuuuun)
  * Jeno’s late to one of their coffee meetups and when he arrives he sees Jaemin and Renjun together and thinks they look so pretty and happy together and he really just wants them to stay happy
  * He honestly kinda thinks they’re dating already _bc he’s dumb and no one in this trio ever freaking talks to each other because they’re scared of losing what they have (ap lit is rubbing off on me sorry)_
  * He starts ducking out of Jaemin’s hugs and stops reciprocating his touches
  * As much as it hurts, Jaemin seems just as happy hanging off of Renjun, so Jeno thinks it’s for the best
  * When they meet up, Jeno tries to make sure Jaemin and Renjun end up on the same side of the table and keeps his feet tucked under his chair
  * And the thing about the three of them is that any pair can be happy and cute but the dynamic works best with all three, ya feel? so Jeno sees the other two happy and touchy and thinks they’re super pretty together and thinks he’d rather see them happy together than mess with it and fuck everything up
  * __Jeno no__
  * _If you couldn’t tell, they’re all gigantic idiots because, again, low self-esteem is a magical thing, and also I’m trying to be consistent with chapter length so I need like 2k of something here_
  * (and if you thought Jeno was being dumb, just watch what happens next _why am I doing this to them_ )
  * So Renjun doesn’t duck out of the coffee dates but the three of them ~~hang out and avoid homework~~ study together a lot
  * And then Renjun just kinda stops showing up
  * __He’s being dumb too__
  * He also sees Jaemin and Jeno and thinks they look so good and happy together and doesn’t think he has a place there
  * He knows they’ve known each other longer and
  * So he decides if Jeno and Jaemin just get together, then his feelings will go away, right?
  * _Wrong_
  * He decides the best way to get them together is to give them alone time
  * Study sessions are good for that
  * It also gives him more time away from them to ~~unsuccessfully~~ try to figure out how to get rid of his feelings
  * The first couple times he ditches it’s excusable, bc he has pretty good reasons like “Chenle got sick” or “I have a huge project due”
  * But he quickly runs out of excuses and they get flimsier and flimsier
  * Even though he keeps ditching, Jeno and Jaemin still don’t get together and he gets kinda frustrated because his feelings aren’t going away either
  * And now we have Jaemin
  * He’s stuck in the middle of this quietly panicking
  * Obviously, with both his best friends pulling away from him, Jaemin’s terrified he did something wrong and messed everything up
  * He’s scared they found out about his feelings and don’t want to be friends with him anymore
  * He’s scared he overstepped a boundary and lost their trust
  * He’s scared he said something wrong and pissed them off
  * He’s scared he fucked up and didn’t even notice
  * He’s absolutely terrified that there’s nothing he can do to make it better
  * So obviously Jaemin does what he always does when he doesn’t know what else to do
  * Well actually no he normally would go to Jeno or Renjun (or both) but that isn’t really an option right now
  * So he goes to Hyuck
  * He tells Hyuck about the whole situation: how both Jeno and Renjun have been kinda cold toward him recently and he doesn’t know what to do
  * He asks Hyuck if he maybe did anything wrong or if he’s reading too much into nothing or what
  * Basically, he panics in Hyuck’s general direction until he’s interrupted with cuddles and ice cream and an animated movie
  * Hyuck just kinda sighs and mutters under his breath that they’re all idiots ( _which, like, fair_ )
  * Hyuck helps him realize that he’s got a gigantic crush on both of them
  * Basically, he sits Jaemin down and works him manually through the “do you like them” process of asking leading questions until either
  * a) Jaemin figures it out himself or
  * b) He gives up and straight up asks if he wants to kiss them
  * Hyuck ends up on option b because regardless of how much he flirts, Jaemin is surprisingly oblivious to his real feelings
  * So Hyuck asks “do you want to kiss them?”
  * And Jaemin goes kinda quiet for a second then says, really soft, “yeah” and then, “oh. _Oh_. OH! I like them!”
  * Hyuck unfortunately doesn’t know how to get them to talk because even though Jaemin has fully realized his feelings, Jeno and Renjun haven’t (even though they’re obvious to anyone else in a 3 mile radius)
  * So he says that Jaemin should talk to Taeil, the “responsible adult” of the situation
  * __Like parents are fantastic and all but I feel awkward talking about crushes and stuff with them, ya feel?__
  * So Jaemin’s sitting there going “what the fuck did I do wrong” and “how do I fix it” and “wait so I like both of them” and “how the hell am I gonna choose” then Taeil’s gonna be like “you don’t gotta pick bro” and Jaemin’s gonna be like “wait what”
  * It’s all a very sophisticated conversation
  * And that’s how Jaemin discovers that Taeil was in a polyamorous relationship with Taeyong and Johnny for a while in college before they broke up
  * On a related note, this is also how Jaemin discovers that Taeil’s asexual ( _this is my story and kpop needs more ace representation fight me_ )
  * So now Jaemin has at least figured out his own feelings, even if he isn’t entirely convinced that he hasn’t pissed off Jeno and Renjun
  * Obviously, the best way to get them all together is the most ~~convoluted~~ entertaining
  * This entails Jisung getting Jeno to come over to his house after dance practice, Chenle dragging Renjun there under the guise of helping them with homework, and Hyuck bringing Jaemin with promises of cooking with Jisung and Chenle
  * Somehow, that all works so they all end up at Jisung’s house (Hyuck brought Mark along too because he didn’t want to miss the drama)
  * The other four collectively shove Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun into a bedroom with bowls of chips and fruit and say “you can come out and have dinner once you’ve figured your shit out we’ll be making mac n cheese”
  * __Because let’s be real here the only two who can actually cook are Jaemin and Renjun__
  * So they end up sitting there awkwardly for like 5 minutes just eating chips and fruit before Jaemin gives in
  * He’s just so sick of all the tension and fear and figures, “what the heck I’ve got nothing to lose now”
  * And he just kinda blurts out “I like both of you like a lot and I really don’t know what to do about it please please please don’t hate me” all in one breath
  * And then Renjun and Jeno both look at each other and look at Jaemin and they all confess _but I don’t know how to write that so I’m not gonna let’s just skip to the fluff ok? ok_
  * So they all hold hands and kiss and it’s cute and soft bc they’re cute and soft
  * Then they go eat mac n cheese (still holding hands whenever possible obviously)
  * Mark is incredibly happy for them and gives them all extra mac n cheese and a much slightly bigger piece of the cake Hyuck brought from the bakery (although how he hid the writing on it, “Congrats on figuring out polyamory” from Jaemin on the way over no one has any idea)
  * ( _tbh I don’t know what’s funnier: Hyuck making a cake, writing that on it, and frantically trying to hide it from Doyoung, or Hyuck going into another bakery and asking them to write that on a cake. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure here_ )
  * Hyuck is proud that they actually managed to communicate and makes them promise that they’ll actually talk to each other about feelings and stuff from now on
  * Chenle is hella excited about the whole situation because a) he won another bet and b) more friends are dating! aren’t they so cute! oh my gosh I love our friends!! isn’t this great Jisung? also cake is very exciting :D
  * He gets to buy Jisung ice cream with the money from the bet so that’s also exciting
  * Jisung is mostly just glad all the teen angst has resolved itself ( _whoo buddy just wait for next chapter. your teen angst is coming_ )
  * Even with Jeno and Renjun and Jaemin dating, the group dynamics don’t really change other than the three of them being more affectionate with each other than anyone else (Jaemin even mostly stops clinging to Hyuck for a while and Mark immediately takes advantage of the ~~free real estate~~ opportunity for affection) and having a few extra inside jokes
  * At one point, Mark and Hyuck kinda accidentally start a “who can be the cutest couple” challenge with the trio and quickly learned that those three DO NOT back down from a challenge
  * Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin go on all sorts of cute-ass dates like stargazing and petting zoos and walking along the beach, but they also just get together and study and cuddle at home because let’s be real, what high school students actually have a) the money and b) the motivation to go all the way outside for dates all the time like no that’s way too much effort
  * And now that school’s in full swing, they’re absolutely the annoying “couple” that no one can really be mad at because they’re so pure and cute (even when Renjun’s threatening murder) (mostly because he’s cute even when he’s threatening murder) (trust me if you disagree Jaemin and Jeno will fight you)
  * Jaemin’s flirting and overall confident gay existence continues to send both Jeno and Renjun into gay panics and Jeno continues being the literal ray of sunshine that he is and Renjun continues semi-constantly panicking but getting better at not showing it and making his bfs (especially Jeno bc Jaemin’s surprisingly hard to fluster) panic right back
  * And thus, the second set officially become boyfriends




	4. The Plot Gets Dressed & Eats Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark wants to help the children  
> Hyuck thinks Mark wants to be a dad or something  
> Jeno doesn’t want to get involved but does anyway  
> Renjun just wants to kiss his boyfriends  
> Jaemin should probably stop meddling in his friends’ love lives  
> Chenle thinks he might be overly optimistic  
> Jisung is quite simply confused
> 
> And here’s how the last two get their s*** together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi can we all just pretend I did this a month ago like I was supposed to? Thanks I appreciate it  
> Here we have it: the penultimate chapter. This will be the last plot-related chapter, and I'll have the last chapter up in the next 24 hours. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!

  * NOW FOR THE CHILDREN
  * _(hi so just a note: I will use “couples” to refer to both MarkHyuck and NoRenMin, mostly because of convenience)_
  * So basically
  * Chenle & Jisung are smol and cute and innocent and just want to pet animals together
  * Suddenly, all their friends are dating
  * Tbh neither of them really minds because they always have each other to talk to
  * When the whole group is together for lunch it’s usually: Hyuck hanging off of Mark and Mark half pretending he doesn’t like it and half cuddling back; Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun just generally being soft and there’s a lot of physical affection involved; and Jisung and Chenle talking and joking about stuff
  * So they’re both good with just chilling and making fun of their friends
  * BUT THEN
  * Jisung looks at Chenle one day and just thinks “he’s so cute I wanna kiss him”
  * He then mentally does the thing they do in movies where one character says something they shouldn’t have and instead of just saying whoops or keeping their mouth shut and being subtle they like gasp dramatically and slap a hand over their mouth, thereby eliminating any possibility that anyone didn’t notice the slip and probably furthering the plot but that’s beside the point
  * Yeah that
  * He did that but in his brain
  * So now he’s had the realization that he likes Chenle but
  * Unfortunately
  * He’s kind of a little bit of an idiot
  * So he doesn’t say anything
  * (To be fair, he has no idea if Chenle likes him and doesn’t want to mess anything up)
  * (On the other hand, given the track record this friend group has of their crushes liking them back, you’d think he’d have learned that statistics is on his side here)
  * And a few days later …
  * Chenle’s looking at Jisung and his brain goes, “hey he’s cute y’all should date”
  * And he’s confused but like … that doesn’t sound like a bad idea?
  * It actually sounds really nice now that he’s thinking about it
  * They’re kinda already dating anyway, just without the whole communication thing bc they’re the last two left in their friend group
  * So like by default whenever small group things happen it’s always the two of them together because neither will allow the other to get stuck alone with a couple
  * And when they both need a break from all the mush and lovey-dovey stuff going on with the couples they get together and just hang out
  * They hang out with just the two of them other times as well, but complaining about couples is definitely a bonding experience trust me
  * (I promise it’s nothing malicious: it’s mostly the two of them mocking the dumb faces the others make and silly stuff like that)
  * Also, on days when Chenle isn’t working, he’ll stop by the pet shelter and visit Jisung because Taeyong doesn’t mind him being there
  * (he calms the animals) ( ~~and Jisung~~ )
  * So they’re both sitting there like “are we dating? I think we’re dating but i'm not sure like we could be dating or he might just think we’re close friends i mean like the rest of our friend group is dating but that doesn’t mean we have to necessarily but like I really think we are also like I really kinda want to”
  * But neither of them wants to be the one to ask or push for more because they’re idiots afraid of rejection
  * Chenle finally ~~grows a pair~~ works up some courage and decides to push maybe a little bit and see how it goes because what’s the worst that can happen, y’feel?
  * So, he starts getting flirtier and clingier with Jisung and Jisung’s kinda confused bc sometimes people just want physical affection and sometimes people want to date and he’s not really sure where the line is there
  * And again, he doesn’t want to ask ( _because apparently I can’t write characters who actually communicate whoops_ )
  * And then Jisung does a dumb thing
  * Jisung goes to Jaemin and asks for relationship advice
  * (that’s not the dumb thing. Jaemin’s actually half-decent at relationship advice, but it’s all kinda relative bc this whole friend group is dumb)
  * And of course Jaemin wants to know who Jisung is asking for, (as anyone would) and
  * (here’s the dumb thing part)
  * Jisung says it’s about a girl in his grade because he doesn’t know if Chenle likes him and knows Jaemin likes to meddle and that sounds like a mess in the making
  * Jaemin’s actually kinda confused bc he was _absolutely positive_ that Jisung had a crush on Chenle but he ~~stupidly~~ trusts Jisung’s word
  * So he gives Jisung some fairly generic advice about communication and physical affection and sends him on his merry way
  * AAAAAND as predicted, Jaemin then gets to meddling
  * He, rationally, goes to Chenle first to see if he knows who Jisung likes
  * This is, as expected, a terrible idea but hey, that’s dramatic irony for ya
  * Chenle, of course, doesn’t know who Jisung “likes” but makes a couple guesses anyway
  * Jaemin, also of course, immediately guesses from the little sad smile and the immediate drop in energy that Chenle does, in fact, like Jisung, but chooses not to disclose the fact that he noticed to Chenle ~~because he has _some_ social sense~~
  * Jaemin then drags his boyfriends into this because ~~he can~~ they’re lovely helpful human beings
  * He sends a slightly reluctant Jeno off to talk to the other people at his and Jisung’s dance club about who Jisung might have a crush on
  * Literally all of them say some variation of “oh the loud/blond/tiny/cute boy he’s always with. Aren’t they already dating?”
  * And Jeno’s like “well that was absolutely no help” but he tells Jaemin anyway and Jaemin just nods kinda thoughtfully and says “ok that helps thank you!” and gives Jeno a kiss on the cheek
  * Jeno has stopped questioning Jaemin
  * It may or may not be related to getting kisses
  * _You’ll never know_
  * Renjun is sent to go talk to the girls Chenle mentioned, and while they all think Jisung’s pretty great and all, they all also think Jisung and Chenle are dating
  * Also two of the aforementioned girls are dating and that a) causes a pretty awkward conversation in which Renjun has to explain the whole situation and b) brings up a red flag because Jisung’s actually very observant ~~contrary to what some people think~~ and tends to notice when people are dating or have chemistry ~~other than himself~~
  * Though, to be fair, Chenle does not quite have this sense
  * Renjun also reports back to Jaemin, receives a similar thoughtful response, and earns a kiss on the cheek as well
  * He’s also stopped questioning the antics
  * It might also have to do with kisses
  * You’d be surprised how much Jaemin can get away with in return for enough kisses
  * _Enough with those shenanigans for now, back to the children in question_
  * Chenle mentions something about Jisung’s “crush” the next time they hang out
  * Jisung panics really hardcore for like 10 seconds before he remembers telling Jaemin
  * Then he panics again because ~~FUCK~~ Chenle thinks he likes someone else now
  * So he stutters through some response about how he hadn’t mentioned it because he didn’t think it was going anywhere
  * And Chenle’s dying a little inside but puts on the best fake smile he can and says “Well you should’ve told me because I can help you! I can be your wingman!” and his voice only cracks a little
  * He’s pretty sure Jisung doesn’t notice
  * _Poor baby :(_
  * Jisung finally gives in and tells him who his “crush” is, and it’s actually one of the previously mentioned girls in a relationship
  * Does he hope Chenle will find out and know he’s hiding something or has he actually forgotten?
  * _You’ll never know_
  * JK you’ll know in like 5 minutes
  * So they return to life acting as though nothing happened though they both know there’s a huge shift in their relationship
  * Unfortunately, neither knows what to do to fix it because neither knows exactly what went wrong
  * And that’s where Mark comes in
  * Hyuck has always been somewhat of an expert in the area of “Cleaning Up After Jaemin Meddles And Gets Into Something He Should Have Left Alone” because Jaemin just wants to help but he’s kind of dumb sometimes
  * Like the rest of them
  * It’s ok though because if you put all of them together they have at least 4 brain cells and that’s enough to do something at least
  * Ok so Mark and Hyuck
  * Mark, like Jaemin, actually has a pretty good guess at what’s going on here
  * Hyuck’s a little more focused on making sure Jaemin doesn’t mess anyone’s friendship up accidentally when he eventually puts some thought into the situation he figures it out pretty quick
  * Because he wants to help his ~~absolutely useless~~ children, Mark talks to Jisung and Chenle separately
  * He gets the beans out of Chenle pretty quick: he’s got a crush on Jisung but isn’t saying anything about it because, from where he is, it’s pretty obvious that Jisung doesn’t like him back and that’s just a recipe for disaster
  * Mark gives him a big hug and some encouragement and probably some junk food before letting him get back to homework
  * Jisung is a bit harder to crack
  * Mark talks to him for quite a while about other stuff because he can tell Jisung’s sick of everyone asking him about his crush and love life and whatnot
  * He eventually brings it up, but does so by asking how Chenle seems to be doing with all of it
  * Jisung just kind of shutters and has a moment of “I think I messed up” before vocalizing that exact thought
  * Mark just says “you really like him, huh” -- not even a question, just a gentle statement
  * It takes about 5.7 seconds before he has a halfway-to-sobbing Jisung in his arms
  * That in and of itself is pretty worrying, considering Jisung isn’t exactly the type to cry a lot but he’s just so scared he’s damaged his bond with Chenle beyond repair that he’s overwhelmed
  * Mark holds him for a while and lets him cry himself out before trying to hold a conversation again
  * He then talks Jisung through how to fix this, starting with clearing everything up with Chenle, then moving on to the rest of the gang
  * Jisung’s worried about asking Chenle, mostly because he still isn’t sold on the whole idea of putting it all out there for him but hey, this is his best friend he’s talking about: if anyone will understand it’ll be Chenle
  * So he marches over to Chenle’s house, now very determined to clear this whole mess up then he’s gonna go have a talk with Jaemin about meddling in people’s love lives
  * That is, if Mark doesn’t beat him to it
  * And once he gets to the door and sees Renjun, he realizes Renjun might beat him to it too
  * Renjun answers the door and after one look at Jisung’s face, he just steps aside and gestures up the stairs
  * Jisung takes off and bursts into Chenle’s room and everything he’d planned to say on the way over flies out of his head and
  * _It’s cliche as hell, I know, but it’s so cute_
  * He pulls Chenle up from his desk and just says “can I kiss you?” in the softest voice ever and Chenle squeaks out a little “yeah” and
  * Yeah they kiss and it’s cute
  * The next thing they hear is Renjun shouting “USE PROTECTION” before the front door closes
  * Jisung doesn’t end up going to talk to Jaemin because
  * a) Mark texts him to let him know it’s dealt with
  * b) he gets distracted cuddling Chenle
  * They do end up having a proper conversation later and Jisung explains the whole situation and they have a good laugh about it
  * To be honest, Chenle and Jisung being a couple finally really won’t change the group dynamics at all, but who has time for group dynamic shifts when there’s a holiday party to plan ( _spoiler alert_ )
  * The only real changes in their relationship are the addition of more physical affection (not that they were particularly lacking that to begin with) and the officiality of “dates” and “boyfriends” and all that jazz




	5. The Plot Gets In The Car & Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is a practical gift-giver  
> Hyuck ends up covered in cake-decorating supplies  
> Jeno finally puts his flower knowledge to good use  
> Renjun will forever be surprised by Hyuck and Jaemin’s antics  
> Jaemin thinks he’s funny  
> Chenle is very excited about the snacks  
> Jisung never knows what gifts to get people but he’s trying anyway
> 
> And here’s them all having a party because plot is overrated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, folks! The plotless ending I promised you! Thank you all so much for sticking through this mess and I hope you got at least a little enjoyment out of it. Feel free to let me know what you think and/or any suggestions you have of what I should write next!

  * WHAT NOW?
  * So, they’re all happily in relationships and whatnot
  * But FEAR NOT
  * _It’s the holiday season so I have plenty of content for you!_
  * Plot? _No, probably not_
  * But content? _Yeah I got content_
  * _This is gonna be loosely based on my friend group’s holiday parties which are always a Mess but fun as heck_
  * So you know the holiday party I mentioned last time? Here’s what they’ve figured out so far:
  * Renjun and Chenle are hosting because
  * a) biggest house
  * b) lowest likelihood of parents interfering
  * c) they can split the setup-takedown stuff so it’s less effort for everyone
  * Renjun, Jaemin, and Jeno are in charge of decorations because
  * a) Renjun can keep his bfs under control (kinda) and ~~try to~~ stop them from going overboard
  * b) Jaemin’s got a good eye for color
  * c) Jeno wanted to and you can’t say no to Jeno also he can’t be trusted in a kitchen
  * (Actually, NoRenMin almost ended up doing snacks because Jaemin can cook and Renjun can help but Jeno got kinda sad because he wouldn’t be able to help much so it got delegated elsewhere)
  * Jisung and Chenle are in charge of activities and music because
  * a) they’re both great with music and their tastes are varied enough that they’ll have songs everyone can enjoy
  * b) whenever no one has any idea what to do or everyone’s bored, these two are always the ones who come up with something to do
  * (It’s always usually ridiculous but it’s always fun)
  * c) Chenle’s familiar with the sound system in the house, more so than Renjun and he actually takes really good care of it because both of them use it for both choir and dance stuff
  * Mark and Donghyuck are in charge of snacks because
  * a) Hyuck. Bakery. Enough said
  * b) you bet your ass Johnny and Ten are a refined, classy couple ~~when they put in the effort~~ so they’re great with tasty, non-messy snacks
  * c) Hyuck has been trying to get Mark to bake with him for like 3 months and it’s finally the perfect opportunity
  * And here we go with planning shenanigans
  * Jisung and Chenle are, kinda surprisingly considering ~~how lazy they can be~~ much they procrastinate sometimes, the first ones done with their prep
  * Honestly, all the playlist took was like 12 hours of them sending song recs to each other as they thought of them and then compiling all of the approved ones (which was most of them) into a big playlist
  * The activities took a little longer, mostly because there was a lot of debate over what the others would enjoy more, and in what order the activities should be done
  * Renjun had to intervene a little but otherwise it went pretty smoothly
  * The decorations took a bit more negotiation
  * Jeno and Jaemin got kinda excited and wanted to buy way more stuff than necessary
  * Luckily, Renjun was able to convince them otherwise and they kept it a bit more understated
  * _Honestly just go watch the Joy music video to see that because it’s much easier to watch then it is for me to try to describe_
  * That all gets sorted pretty quickly, and they get it all set up the day before the party so they don’t have to worry about it the day of
  * The snacks, however, are the most difficult part
  * Hyuck has specific plans for exactly what he envisions and it’s a lot more effort than Mark thinks they should put it
  * The stuff’s just gonna get eaten anyway, right?
  * Hyuck doesn’t see it that way
  * Mark has to talk him down from several incredibly extravagant ideas but relents eventually, letting him put frosting flowers on just about everything (don’t worry; it’s still tasteful and looks really pretty. Hyuck knows what he’s doing)
  * They end up with a nice variety of healthy and unhealthy, salty and savory and sweet, and hot and cold
  * Everyone arrives on time ~~for once~~ on the day of the party
  * They decide to start off with gift-giving then get into activities and gossip
  * So
  * Here are the gifts
  * _Yes, I’m going to go through all of them. This is the content you signed up for when you gave up plot_
  * Mark gets:
  * The new camera lens he’s had his eye on for a while from Renjun
  * A couple CDs of artists he likes and blue and lavender campanulas from Jeno
  * A really cute handwritten note and a couple bracelet from Hyuck
  * A book called “How to Not Always be Working”, some tea, and a couple bath bombs from Jaemin
  * A lot of chocolate from Chenle
  * Clue the board game from Jisung because, _and I quote_ , “it was the only thing I could find that’s more dramatic than our friend group”
  * Renjun gets:
  * A new set of paintbrushes and some nice oil pastels from Mark
  * Ruffled lavender peonies and probably too much Moomin merch from Jeno but is there such thing as too much Moomin? I think not
  * Some special-made pastries and other assorted junk food from Hyuck because “you’re too skinny, Junnie!” immediately followed by the sound of ~~Hyuck~~ someone being smacked
  * A package of passive-aggressive balloons and a couple bracelet from Jaemin
  * Some really pretty necklaces from Chenle because Renjun doesn’t wear necklaces enough
  * A gift card to a local art store from Jisung because he doesn’t know how art works but wants to help anyway
  * Jeno gets:
  * A really neat bomber jacket from Mark
  * A moodboard-esque painting from Renjun, of the things that Jeno reminds him of: sunshine, warm turquoise waters, gently blooming flowers, and it somehow encapsulates that excited bubbly feeling in your chest when you’re around someone you like
  * A couple new video games from Hyuck
  * A book of jokes and a couple bracelet from Jaemin
  * Various chocolate and candy from Chenle
  * Some books about different types of dance from Jisung
  * Hyuck gets:
  * A cute note and a sweatshirt with a horrible English pun on it from Mark
  * Several candles of various scents (vanilla, lavender, champagne) from Renjun
  * Sunflowers and a cozy forest green scarf from Jeno
  * A book of ridiculous cakes from Jaemin
  * A blank-staff notebook for writing music in from Chenle
  * A bunch of Michael Jackson records, and some of similar artists from Jisung
  * Jaemin gets:
  * Some books about various programming languages from Mark
  * A moodboard-esque painting from Renjun, of the things Jaemin reminds him of: a cozy fireplace on a cold winter night, drinking tea and cocoa while wrapped up in blankets, the colors of autumn trees, sweaters and fuzzy socks, and it somehow visually represents a warm comforting hug from a loved one
  * A bunch of stuffed animals, a super warm super soft blanket, and pink roses from Jeno
  * A cookbook of family recipes from Hyuck
  * A couple flavors of lip gloss and another stuffed animal (a puppy) from Chenle (strawberry, mint, and apple)
  * A pair of fuzzy sweatpants and a cactus from Jisung (Jaemin names the cactus Steve)
  * Chenle gets:
  * A really pretty notebook with both blank staffs and regular lines in it for writing music in from Mark
  * Money to pay for getting his ears pierced from Renjun ( _let me live my dreams, ok?_ )
  * Red camellias and a white NASA beanie from Jeno
  * A pair of mittens and a ridiculous Christmas sweater that lights up from Hyuck
  * A bunch of peppermint bark and peanut brittle from Jaemin (homemade because he’s extra)
  * A heartfelt letter and some little trinkets from Jisung that he found in the marketplace and they reminded him of Chenle (a couple sparkly rocks and a neko kitty and other little figures)
  * Jisung gets:
  * A new wireless speaker from Mark since ~~Hyuck~~ someone broke his last one accidentally
  * A book of little doodles and sketches, some polished and colors, others just lineart, from Renjun
  * Chrysanthemums and a big comfy sweatshirt from Jeno
  * A couple pairs of really warm fuzzy socks and a pair of mittens (that match Chenle’s) from Hyuck
  * A book of the birds with text on them like “the risk i took was calculated but man i’m bad at math” and “i’d sell you to satan for one corn chip” and “i’m five ounces of whoop-ass” from Jaemin
  * ( _yes that exists. my sister got it for me for my birthday this year and it’s freaking hilarious. it’s called The Mincing Mockingbird: Guide to Troubled Birds and I highly recommend you check it out_ )
  * A cute card and bunch of music in various forms (CD, record, a couple Spotify playlists, and iTunes giftcard) from Chenle
  * Ok so now that’s done, we can move onto the activities and gossip
  * The first couple activities are board games: Sorry, Trumpet, Pit, and the new Clue are all thoroughly exhausted
  * Most of the food is consumed during this time because these are, in fact, teenage boys we’re talking about here
  * One of the more entertaining things was the hot cocoa
  * So Hyuck brought cocoa mix and a bunch of things to put in the cocoa
  * So everyone made some then it quickly became a competition of who could put the most stuff in
  * White chocolate chips, mint chocolate chips, baby candy canes, marshmallows, whipped cream, nutella, peanut butter, mini m&ms, etc
  * Somehow Hyuck gets it in his head that spraying the whipped cream straight into his mouth is a fantastic idea
  * He ends up getting whipped cream all over his face
  * He then tries to kiss Mark
  * It doesn’t end well
  * Eventually, though, they get back to the games
  * Renjun wins most of them
  * Then the gossip and the music begin
  * Well, the music has been going this whole time but the playlist switches from more dance-ish music to the calmer stuff
  * Truth or Dare is proposed and is quickly limited to Truth or Truth because no one really wants to move once they’ve gotten comfortable
  * By comfortable, I mean cuddling with their boyfriends
  * _I’m just gonna tell a couple of fun stories here because this is getting long_
  * First, we have the story of Mark’s first kiss
  * It was Xuxi
  * Yeah, I know
  * Everyone else was surprised too
  * Apparently they were hanging out sophomore year and Xuxi just turned to Mark and went “hey do you wanna kiss?” and Mark was like “bro what?” and Xuxi said “y’know, neither of us have kissed anyone, it might help to get practice” and that was enough to convince Mark
  * They kissed like twice and decided “no thanks this doesn’t work”
  * The next person Mark ever kissed was Hyuck
  * Ok now we have the story of Hyuck and Jaemin being each other’s first kiss, also a story no one else knows
  * So Jaemin and Hyuck used to hang out a lot, especially since they’re neighbors
  * They had a lot of sleepovers and stayed up way too late at most of them
  * One of those times, freshman year, they were doing random dares from a website they’d found
  * The first few were harmless, like “switch all the bags of cereal around in the boxes” and “cover the faces of a couple photos with Barack Obama” and dumb stuff like that
  * Then one was just “kiss someone else in the room” and they were like, “well, it’s a dare and we’ve done the rest of them so I guess this is happening”
  * Neither of them particularly disliked it, but neither liked it enough to make a regular habit of it
  * The rest of the night follows in a similar fashion
  * They all start to get drowsy around midnight and decide to put on a movie and just chill until they fall asleep
  * Everyone gets changed into pajamas, the little bit of leftover snacks are put away, and Chenle decides to watch Nightmare Before Christmas
  * Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun claim the couch because Renjun lives there and there’s three of them so they could fight the rest if they wanted to
  * Mark and Hyuck steal the loveseat
  * Jisung and Chenle curl up on a beanbag
  * Everyone’s soft and comfy, enjoying the movie and gently falling asleep as snow falls gently outside
  * A perfect ending to a perfect night and a perfect year



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note here: I'm liable to make this a kind of series and do something similar every once in a while because I had a lot of fun with this. Please let me know if there are any other groups you want to see me write about and I'll definitely look into them! Thanks so much for reading this and I hope you all enjoyed!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for making it this far! Updates will be the 9th of every month through December. Feel free to leave kudos and comments and constructive criticism if you would like! This is my second thing ever posted here (please don't go read the first it's terrible and makes me kinda want to cry) so there's a lot of room for improvement. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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